The Proposal
by cgd1026
Summary: Based on the film The Proposal. Quinn is Puck's boss, and gets deported. She makes Puck marry her in order for her to stay in the country. Only problem is they can't stand each other.
1. Chapter 1

This is based on the movie the Proposal, it's quite similar, but things will slightly change once we get more into the story. Let me know what you all think!

It's 6 in the morning in New York City. Quinn is on the elliptical in her living room, flipping through a manuscript. Quinn is the head editor to the publishing company, Weldon Books. She decides what gets published, how many copies get published and when a book is ready. Because she has such a high position at her job, she doesn't have much time for a life. Work is her life, and being that she is from Canada, she doesn't have many friends in New York either. The sun is creeping up through her window and she hops off the elliptical and gets ready for work.

Puck, on the other hand, is running extremely late. He jolts up once he sees the time, runs to the bathroom, brushes his teeth, throws on a suit and races out the door.

Quinn, dressed in a pencil skirt and black button down shirt, takes one last sip from her coffee and puts it in the sink.

Puck runs into Starbucks and is met with a line of seven people. He begins to sweat a little, until the barista calls his name,

"Hey Puck, two lattes?" He walks over to her, slightly embarrassed to be cutting everyone.

"Thank you so much, I owe you one." He grabs the lattes and quickly makes a run for it.

Quinn is walking to work, louboutins on her feet and phone in her hand. Her phone rings and she answers it, "Finn, so nice of you to call me back. I have been waiting to hear from you." She continues to walk, people seem to jump out of her way, "Now I know you are trepidacious about taking an interview, but trust me when I say how necessary this is."

Puck gets inside the building and runs to the closing elevator doors, making it just in time, "Everyone good?" He says to the other men in the elevator out of breath, "Cause I'm good." The elevator dings to the fifth floor and Puck hustles out, the secretary hands him a bunch of envelopes,

"Cutting it close aren't we?"

"One of those mornings, thank you, Nancy."

He looks through the envelopes, not paying attention to where he is walking and bumps into the mail carrier, spilling his coffee all over himself.

"DAMNIT. Why don't you watch where you're going huh?!"

The mail man rolls his eyes and pushes his cart out of the way. Puck walks over to Sam's cubical.

"Sam, I need your shirt." Sam puts his phone down and looks at him and laughs.

"You're not serious are you?"

"Do I look like I am joking?"

"Na man, no way sorry."

"Two box tickets to the Yankees vs. Boston game this Saturday for your fucking shirt."

Quinn gets out of the elevator, emailing on her phone. Everyone in the office is instant messaging each other things like "The bitch is here" "ALERT SHE IS HERE" Everyone puts their phones, newspapers, magazines and breakfast pastries down and pretends to be working.

Puck is tightening his tie, well Sam's tie, picks up the only coffee remaining and goes to Quinn's office. He stands against the window waiting for her to arrive.

Quinn walks in, still looking at her phone. Puck stands up straight and hands Quinn her coffee.

"Morning boss, you got a conference call in thirty minutes-"

"Yes about the spring books, I know." She walks behind her desk and sits down.

"We have a staff meeting at 9-"

"Did you call, ugh what's her name the one with the crooked teeth?"

"Janet?"

"Yes Janet." Puck hands Quinn a manuscript.

"Yes, I did call her and I told her if she doesn't get her manuscript in on time, you won't give her a release date. Also your immigration lawyer called and said it was imperative that-"

"K, cancel the call. Push the meeting to tomorrow and keep the lawyer on the sheets. Oh and contact PR and tell them to draft a press release. Finn is doing Oprah."

"Wow, that's awesome. Good job." He picks up a pile of edited manuscripts.

"If I want your praise I will ask for it." She mumbles and turns around to her computer, checking her emails, coffee in hand. Quinn lifts her coffee to take a sip when she notices a phone number written on the cup. Puck is halfway out of her office,

"Um, who is, who is Karen?" Puck freezes. "And why does she want me to call her?" She turns around her cup to face Puck and looks at him not amused.

"Well, that was originally my cup."

"And why am I drinking your coffee?" Puck loosens his tie a bit,

"Because your coffee spilled." Quinn takes a sip of the coffee. Puck stands there awkwardly.

"So you drink unsweetened cinnamon light soy lattes?"

"I do. It's like Christmas in a cup."

"That a coincidence?"

"Absolutely. It absolutely is. I mean I wouldn't possibly drink the same coffee as you just in case an incident like this happened. That would just be pathetic." The phone rings and Puck walks over to answer it, "Morning. Ms. Fabray's office. Hey Bill." Quinn gives him a hand gesture that Puck thinks he understands, "Actually we're headed over to your office right now." He hangs up. "Why are we headed to Bills office?" She ignores him and continues working.

Puck gets out of her office and runs to his computer. He instant messages everyone: THE WITCH IS ON HER BROOM and quickly sends it. Everyone straightens up and begins diligently working. Quinn walks out of her office and Puck runs to catch up with her.

"Have you finished the manuscript I gave you?"

"Oh I read a few pages but wasn't that impressed."

"Can I say something?"

"No."

"I've read thousands of manuscripts and this is the only one I have ever given you. Trust me when I say there is an incredible novel in there. The kind of novel that you used to publish."

Sam stands up as they pass, wearing Puck's stained shirt and smiles at them.

"Um, wrong. And I do think you order the same coffee as I do, just in case you do spill it, which is, in fact, pathetic."

"Or impressive-"

"I'd be impressed if you didn't spill in the first place. Now remember you are just a prop in here"

"Won't say a word" They enter Bill's office.

"Ah! Our fearless leader. Please do come in!" Quinn notices the new wood desk Bill is polishing.

"Wow, beautiful desk. Is it new?"

"It is English Regency Egyptian Revival, built in the 1800's, but yes, new to my office."

"Witty. Bill I'm letting you go." Bill looks up from his computer very confused and shocked. Puck looks at Quinn with the same reaction.

"Um excuse me?"

"I asked you over a dozen times to get Finn to do Oprah and you didn't do it. You're fired" Puck walks over and quietly shuts the door.

"I have told you several times that is impossible. Finn hasn't done an interview in ten years."

"Well that is fascinating because I just spoke with Finn and he is doing Oprah."

"Pardon?"

"You didn't even make an attempt did you?" Bill is speechless. "I know, Finn can be a little scary to deal with. For you. Now I'll give you one month to find another job and then you can tell everyone you resigned. Okay?" Quinn picks up a book from his desk, hands it to Puck and walks out. Puck follows.

"He's moving, he has crazy eyes." Puck mumbles behind her.

"Don't do it Bill. Don't do it."

"You evil bitch!" Everyone looks up from their computers and gasps. "You can't fire me!" Puck walks to his desk and sits down. "Making me look bad to the board because of this stupid Oprah thing." Quinn takes a sip of her coffee. "I know why you're doing this, you are threatened by me!"

"Bill, stop."

"Just because you have no life other than your work, no family no friends, you think you can treat everyone like your own personal slaves. I feel sorry for you, I really do. You know who you're gonna have by your deathbed? NO ONE."

Quinn sighs and shakes her head, "Listen carefully, Bill. I didn't fire you because I feel threatened by you. No. I fired you because you are a lazy, incompetent, entitled and you spend more time cheating on your wife than you do in your office. And if you say another word, Noah here is gonna get security and they're gonna throw you out on your ass. Another word and you are going out with an armed escort. Noah will film it with his little camera and put it up on that website."

"YouTube"

"Exactly. Is that what you want? Didn't think so. I have work to do." Quinn walks back to her office and Puck follows.

"Have security take his desk and put it in my office. Also, I need you around this weekend to go over some manuscripts-"

"This weekend?"

"Is there an issue?" Quinn stops walking and faces Puck. He takes a step back.

"No. I just- It's my grandmother's 90th birthday so I was gonna go home and I-" Quinn walks away. "-it's fine. I'll just cancel."

\- Puck is sitting at his cubical on the phone with his mother, "I know. I know, but she needs me to work so there's nothing I can do. Tell Grams I'm sorry okay? What do you want me to tell you, it's out of my hands. I'm sure that Dad is pissed-" Quinn walks up to his cubical "-we take all of our submissions around here very seriously. Thank you."

"Was that your family?"

"Yes."

"They tell you to quit?"

"Every single day." The phone rings and Puck answers. "Ms. Fabray's office. Yeah, okay I'll tell her." He hangs up the phone. "Tate and Sillows want to see you upstairs immediately."

"Ughhh okay. Come get me in ten minutes, we've got a lot of work to do."

"Alrighty." She walks away and he gives her a dirty look.

Quinn walks into her boss's office. "Peter, David"

"Quinn. Congratulations on Oprah. That's fantastic news"

"Thank you, thank you. This isn't about my second raise is it" They all laugh. "Just kidding."

"Quinn, I am just gonna cut to the chase here. Your visa application has been denied. You are being deported."

"Deported?"

"Apparently there was also some paperwork you didn't fill out on time"

"Come on, I'm not an immigrant. I'm from Canada for Christ's sake. There has to be something we can do, right?"

"We can reapply, but unfortunately you need to leave the country for at least a year." Quinn is shocked.

"Alright, okay. Well, that's not ideal, but uh, I can uh, manage everything from Toronto-"

"No, Quinn"

"-with video conferencing and the Internet."

"Unfortunately, Quinn if you are being deported you cannot work for an American company. Until this is resolved I'm turning everything over to Bill Mellie."

"Bill Mellie? The guy I just fired!"

"We need an editor in chief"

"No, please I beg of you-"

"Quinn, we are desperate to have you stay. And if there was something we could do, I would but there are no options, I am afraid." There is a knock at the door and Puck peeks his head in.

"Hi sorry to interrupt" Quinn turns around annoyed.

"What? What?!"

"Mary has just called. She is on the line."

"I know."

"She's on hold. She needs to speak with you immediately. I told her you were otherwise engaged. She insisted. Sorry." Quinn freezes and stares at Puck. She looks at her boss again and back at Puck. She mouths for him to 'come here' and he obliges.

"Uh, gentleman, I understand, I do. But um, there isn't much need to worry because there is something you guys should know actually." She takes a few steps back until she is standing next to Puck. Puck looks at her confused. "Uh, we're, actually we're getting married." She pats his chest as she says it. "We are getting married." Puck stands shocked and looks at Quinn.

"Who is?"

"You and I!"

"What-"

"You and I are getting married, yes."

"We are." The words tumble out of his mouth, almost in a mumble and incredibly unbelievable.

"Isn't he your secretary?"

"Assistant" Puck chimes in.

"So yeah, the truth is, you know, Noah and I, we are just two people who didn't plan to fall in love, but we did."

"No."

"All those late nights at the office and on the weekends"

"No."

"It just happened."

"Happened."

"Tried to fight it and we just, we couldn't fight it. Can't fight a love like ours." Quinn awkwardly puts her arm around Puck. "So are we good, with this? All straightened out?" Puck is standing there, pale as a ghost, mouth agape.

"Quinn, it's terrific. Just make it legal, alright?"

"Legal. Right, yes. Absolutely."


	2. Chapter 2

Quinn gets into her office, Puck follows slowly behind. She sits at her desk, opens the manuscript in front of her and begins reading. Puck stands in front of her desk, staring at her still very confused as to what is going on. After a few seconds of Puck staring, Quinn lifts her head to Puck.

"What?" She says it so casually.

"I don't…understand what…is happening." The words come out of his mouth slowly. She looks back down at the manuscript,

"Relax. This is for you too." He puts his hand on the chair in front of him and hunches over.

"Do explain." She still doesn't look at him.

"They were going to make Bill chief."

"So naturally, I would have to marry you?"

"And what's the problem? Like you were saving yourself for the perfect girl?"

"I'd like to think so. Besides, it is illegal."

"They're looking for terrorists, not book publishers."

"Quinn?"

"Yes."

"I'm not marrying you."

"Oh, yes you are. Because if you don't your dreams of touching many lives with the written word are dead." She finally looks at him and simply shrugs. He looks around the office, slightly panicked. She puts her highlighter back in the holder, folds her hands and looks up at Puck. "Bill is going to fire you the second he gets promoted. Guaranteed. That means you're out on the streets, begging people for a job. THAT means all that time we have spent together, all the lattes, all the canceled dates, all the midnight Tampax runs would have been for nothing and all of your dreams of being an editor are crushed. But don't you fret because after the required allotment of time, you will gift me of a divorce and you'll be done with me, but until then, like it or not, you are stuck with me. Okay?" She fixes her papers and the phone rings. "Phone." And she points to the phone. Puck just stands there looking at the floor, slowly catching his breath that he lost somewhere in the middle of their conversation.

\- They enter the immigration building and the lines are ridiculously long. Quinn gets in line, Puck follows, and looks ahead of her at the thirteen heads that have a spot before her.

"No way." She walks in between the two lines,

"Quinn,"

"Shh" She snaps her finger for him to follow. The guy behind the window says, "Next please," and Quinn runs in front of the Asian lady. "Sorry, I just need to ask him something." She turns to the guy behind the window, "I need you to file this fiancée visa for me, please." The man rolls his eyes and picks up her file.

"Ms. Fabray?"

"Yes."

"Please come with me."

They are in a small office, Puck is sitting across from a desk and Quinn is standing by the door, typing on her phone.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Puck examines the office, but his thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. Quinn looks up from her phone as a short man enters the office.

"Hello. I am Mr. Erickson."

"Ah."

"And you must be Noah and you must be Lucy." Puck chuckles at the reference of her actual first name.

"Call me Quinn, please."

"Oh, okay. Sorry about the wait, it's a crazy day today."

"Oh, of course we understand. And I can't tell you how much we appreciate you seeing us on such short notice."

"OK" He opens up Quinns file. "Blah, blah, blah. Blah. So I just have a question for you. Are you both committing fraud to avoid her deportation so she can keep her job at Weldon Books as editor in chief" Puck answers immediately,

"That's ridiculous."

"Where did you hear that?"

"We had a phone tip this afternoon from a man named um-"

"Would it be Bill Sterling?"

"Yes, it would actually."

"Ugh, Bill. Bill is just a disgruntled former employee, who lives to make my life miserable. In fact he was always jealous of Noah here, he always asked me out on dates and stuff, but I obviously had to refuse." Puck looks at her, eyes wide. "But, we know how busy you are, with a room full of gardeners and delivery boys to tend to," Puck winces. "if you can just point us to our next step, we will be out of your hair and on our way"

"Ms. Fabray, please sit" He points to the chair."

"Let me explain to you both the process that is about to unfold." He folds his hands and puts them on his desk. "Step one will be a scheduled interview. I'll put you each in a room and ask you questions, every little question about your relationship that a real couple would know about each other. Step two; I dig deeper. I look at your phone records, I talk to your neighbors, co-workers. If your answers don't match up at every point you will be deported indefinitely. And YOU, Mr. Puckerman, will have committed a felony punishable by a fine of $250,000 and a stay of five years in a federal prison." Puck goes pale. He is staring blankly at Mr. Erickson. "So, Noah." He leans closer into the desk, "You want to speak up? Say anything?" He shakes his head slowly. "No?" He nods his head. "Yes?" Quinn shakes her head.

"Uh, the truth is," He clears his throat. "The truth is, Mr. Erickson, Quinn and I," He fixes his tie. "are just two people who weren't supposed to fall in love. But did." He looks at Quinn and she fakes a smile and nods. "We couldn't tell anyone we work with because of my big promotion coming up."

"Promotion?" Mr. Erickson looks intrigued.

"Yes. We, we both felt that it would be inappropriate if I were to be promoted to editor"

"Editor" Quinn looks at him, eyes squinted and nods her head.

"Yes, while we were, you know, together."

"So…have the two of you told your parents about this secret love?"

"Oh, no impossible, my father kicked me out when I was sixteen and my mother is dead. No brothers or sisters either." She says it nonchalantly.

"And are your parents dead, Noah?"

"Oh no, his are very much alive"

"Very much"

"We're actually, we were gonna tell them this weekend. Grammy's 90th birthday, the whole family's coming together. We thought it'd be a nice surprise."

"And where is this gonna take place?"

"At Noah's parents house."

"Where is that located?"

"Honey, do yu wanna maybe speak up?"

"Sitka."

"Sitka."

"Alaska."

"Alaskaaaa?" She tries to hold her shock.

"You were gonna go to Alaska this weekend?" They both nod their heads.

"Yes"

"Yep. We are going to Alaska. Alaska, that's where my little Noah is from" She awkwardly reaches over to touch his shoulder. He goes to touch her hand, but she pulls her hand away quickly.

"Fine. I see how this is gonna go. I will see you both at 11 Monday morning."

"Thank you"

"Fly safe. I gotta say, I'm looking forward to this one"

"Thanks"

"I'll be checking up on you" Quinn answers her phone and they both walk out of the office.

\- They walk out of the building, Quinn is typing on her phone trailing behind.

"Okay here's what's gonna happen. We'll pretend we are boyfriend and girlfriend. We'll fly to Alaska, use my miles for the tickets, tell your parents we're engaged. And please confirm the vegan meal on the plane, because last time they actually gave it to a vegan and they forced me to eat this clammy, creamy salad thing, which was disgusting-"

"I'm sorry were you not just in that office with me?"

"What? What happened?" He stares at her. "Oh, oh oh yes that thing you said about being promoted. That was a nice touch, he completely fell for it."

"I was serious, actually." She looks up from her phone. "I'm looking at a $250,000 fine and five years in jail. That changes things."

"Promote you to editor? No. No way."

"Then I quit. Bye-bye Quinn"

"Noah!" He starts walking away.

"It really has been a little slice of heaven-"

"Noah! Okay, okay fine." He stops walking. "I'll make you editor, fine. If you do Alaska this weekend and the immigration interview, I will make you editor. Happy?"

"Not in two years. Right away."

"Fine."

"And you'll publish my manuscript"

"Ten-thousand copies first-"

"Twenty-thousand copies, first run. And we'll tell my family about our engagement when I want and how I want. Now ask me nicely."

Quinn puts her phone in her purse, "'Ask you nicely' what?"

"Ask me nicely to marry you, Quinn."

"What does that mean?"

"You heard me, on your knee." Quinn looks around at all the people passing by and then at Puck.

"Fine." She reaches out for his hand and he takes it. She kneels down in her pencil skirt on both knees. "Does this work for you?"

"Oh yes, I like this"

"K good. Uh will you marry me" She says it quickly and casually.

"No. Say it like you mean it."

"Noah?"

"Yes, Quinn?"

"Sweet Noah?"

"I'm listening."

"Would you please with cherries on top, marry me?" He looks up at the sky pretending to be in thought.

"Okay. I don't appreciate the sarcasm, but I'll do it. See you at the airport tomorrow."

"Good" She reaches for his hand to help her up, but he walks away leaving her there on her knees. She struggles to get up, in her skirt and high heels.

-They're on the plane, sitting in first class. Quinn is flipping through a magazine and Puck is looking at an immigration packet he printed off line.

"Okay here are some of the questions they're probably gonna ask us. Good news is I know everything about you, bad news is you have four days to learn all of this about me. So you should probably get studying," Quinn yanks the packet from his hands and flips through it. She reads a few questions.

"You know the answers to all these questions about me?" She doesn't believe it for a second.

"Scary isn't it?"

"Little bit. What am I allergic to?"

"Pine nuts and a full spectrum of human emotion"

"Oh that's so, that's so funny"

"Oh here's a good one, do I have any scars?"

"I'm pretty sure that you have a tattoo."

"Oh you're uh, you're pretty sure?"

"I'm pretty sure. Two years ago your dermatologist called and asked about a Q-switched laser." He turns facing her a bit. "I in return Googled a Q-switched laser and found that they are to in fact remove tattoos." She looks back to the pamphlet. "But you cancelled your appointment." She looks at him. "So what is it? Tribal ink? Japanese calligraphy? Barbed wire?"

"You know it's exciting for me to experience you like this." She says sarcastically.

"Thank you. You're gonna have to tell me where it is though."

"No I'm not."

"They're gonna ask."

"We're done with that question. We're done with that question. On to another, let me see, let me see. Oh here's one, whose place to we stay at your or mine? That's easy. Mine."

"And why wouldn't we stay at mine?"

"Uh, because I live at Central Park West. And you, you probably live at some squalid studio apartment"

"Ladies and gentleman, please fasten your seat belts. We are beginning our descent into Juneau."

"Juneau? I thought we were flying to Sitka."

"We are."

"And how are we getting to Sitka?"

-Quinn and Puck are now on tis tiny plane, shaking around. Everyone is sitting extremely close to one another. Puck looks out the window and sees his mother and grandmother jumping up and down with a signs in their hands.

"All right. Here we go."

Puck gets off the plane and waves to his family. Quinn, in her heels, struggles behind him down the stairs. She folds her arms as she is met with a gust of cold wind.

"Hi!" Puck hugs his mother tightly.

"It's so good to see you"

"You're suffocating him, Ruth." Puck's Gram yanks him into a hug. "Come here."

"Hey Gram, how've you been? Where's dad?"

"Oh you know your father, always working."

"Never mind about him. Where's your girl?"

"Uh, she's right….there" He points to Quinn who is still walking over to them.

"Heels? In Alaska?"

"Annie." Ruth says. "Hi!" She grabs Quinn and tries to pull her into a hug.

"Quinn, this is my mom, Ruth." Quinn reaches her hand out to shake Puck's mom's hand. "Yeah, great. And this is my Gram, Annie." She shakes her hand as well,

"Pleasure."

"Well, hello there. Now do you prefer to be called Quinn or Satan's Misstress? We've heart it both ways. Actually we've heard it a lot of ways."

"She's kidding."

"Oh. Oh okay." They all stand in a few seconds of awkward silence. "Well, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this weekend.

"Oh you're welcome! We are thrilled to have you. Let's get you two back to the fort."

"Okay!" Annie and Ruth turn around and Quinn gives Puck a dirty look. Puck then takes his Gram's arm and walks with her.


	3. Chapter 3

Puck and Quinn are in the back seat of the family's pick up truck. Quinn is looking out the window, getting a feel of what this town is like. Everything they pass seems to have the name 'Puckerman' in front of it. Puckerman Photography, Puckerman Antiques, Puckerman Carpeting, etc. She takes her sunglasses off and looks at Puck, then down at his carry on seated next to him. The tag reads N. Puckerman. She whispers to him,

"Noah. Noah! Noah!" He doesn't seem to hear so she punches him hard in the arm.

"OW! Please don't abuse me."

"You didn't tell me about all the family business', honey."

"He was probably just being modest, dear." Annie calls from the front seat.

"Oh." Quinn says, and throws in a smile for good measure.

They arrive at a dock, the sea filled with all different kinds of boats. Quinn gets out of the truck and grabs her bag. Puck looks out at the view and smiles.

"What are we doing here? Shouldn't we be checking into our hotel right about now?"

"Oh, we canceled your reservation." Ruth tells Quinn and she quickly turns around. "Family doesn't stay at a hotel. You're gonna stay in our home" Quinn puts on her best smile.

"Oh, great! Great." She turns to Puck and whispers, "WHAT?!" Puck is currently taking all three of Quinn's suitcases out of the truck.

"Oh God, you're gonna wanna use your legs to lift that one." He walks to his Grams and mother. Annie stops him,

"Puck, help her with those."

"Oh I'd love to but she won't let me do anything. She insists on doing it all herself. She's one of those…you know feminists." They all look over at Quinn, struggling with her suitcase. They all walk ahead of her. Quinn is lagging behind, the wheels of her Louis Vuitton suitcase getting stuck in the cracks of the dock.

They all get to the small boat, Annie is sitting on the boat and Ruth is standing up as Puck throws all the luggage down. He takes Quinn's Louis Vuitton carry-on bag and carelessly throws it, landing slightly in the water.

"Oops, five second rule." Quinn is behind him in panic, softly cursing to herself. Ruth lifts it up,

"Got it! I got it." Puck turns to her,

"It'll dry right off." Puck climbs down the wooden ladder.

"Hey, hey. Noah, I am not getting on that boat."

"You don't have to. See you in a few days."

"Hey! You know I can't swim!" She whispers.

"Hence the boat." She rolls her eyes and starts breathing in and out. Puck jumps off the last step on the ladder. "Come on." He tells her, and opens is arms up to ease her nerves. She starts to walk slowly towards the ladder. "Come on, here we go" She puts her bag down and turns around, putting one heel on the ladder. "Looking good, boss. Take your time though."

"Shh." She grabs her bag and puts it safely on her arm.

"She comes with a lot of baggage." Annie says to Ruth from the boat.

"Just gonna give you a little hand here" Puck reaches up and puts his hand on her ass.

"Hand off ass. Off ass." He removes it and backs away. She reaches the last step.

"There you go." She struggles to find the end of the pier, "You're there" She wiggles her foot and lowers until she finally hits solid ground. "Congratulations. I am now a hundred years old."

They're all on the boat, Puck is steering. Quinn is the only one in a big red life vest.

"Here we are! We're home." Ruth calls out. Quinn looks over and sees a giant white mansion.

"That is your home? Who are you people?" She says to herself as she looks around the land.

They get off the boat and are walking up to Puck's house.

Why did you tell me you were poor?"

"I never said I was poor."

"Yeah, but you never said you were rich."

"I'm not rich. My parents are rich."

"Okay, you know what that is something only rich people would say."

"Hey Puck! Welcome home!" They hear from afar. Puck notices a few different neighbors around their house.

"Puck? As in hockey?" Quinn looks at him confused.

"Mom…what's this?"

"Am I supposed to be calling you Puck?"

"Just a little welcome home party! Is that a crime?" Puck's annoyed.

"I mean the only person that call me Noah is my Aunt Tracy and cousin Meredith, but that doesn't really matter."

"Just 50 of our closest friends and neighbors!" Annie says excidedly.

"Puck? Were you good at hockey."

"Short for Puckerman…they started it in football and it stuck."

"And Quinn they're all excited to meet you!"

"Oh, lovely." Quinn pauses and turns behind her to Puck. "Really? A party?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Come on let's go, my grandma's moving faster than you." She aggressively pulls her bag and starts walking.

-"So nice to meet you, Quinn. Welcome to Sitka" Quinn shakes their hands.

"Nice to meet you too." Quinn continues to make her rounds.

"Quinn, nice to meet you"

"My pleasure, nice to meet you." They round the corner together.

"Why didn't you tell me you were some kind of Alaskan Kennedy?"

"How could I? We were in the middle of talking about you for the last three years." She yanks him around the next corner.

"Okay, you know what time out for a second okay? This constant bickering has got to stop or nobody is going to believe us. People need to think that we are in love-"

"That's no problem. I can pretend to be the doting fiancé. That's easy. I'm worried about you, because for you it's going to require that you stop snacking on children while they dream."

"Very funny, when are you going to tell them we are engaged?"

"I'll pick the right moment"

"Hey, Puck. Hi!" Puck rolls his eyes at Quinn and then turns around.

"Mrs. McCarthy, Mr. McCarthy how are you" They hug and Quinn follows him over. "This is Quinn"

"Hi. Pleasure" She shakes their hands

"So I always wanted to know what a book editor does."

"That's a great question." Puck's dad enters from around the corner. "I'm curious to know the answer myself."

"Hello, Dad"

"Son."

"This must be Quinnie"

"Uh, Quinn"

"Joe. Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure's mine."

"So, uh, why don't you tell us all what a book editor does, besides taking writers out to lunch and getting bombed."

"Now that sounds like fun." Quinn forces a smile out. "No wonder you like being an editor." Mrs. McCarthy says to Puck.

"No, no. He's not an editor, he's an editor's assistant. Quinnie here is the editor."

"Quinn."

"So you're actually Puck's boss?" They both nod. "Well, how bout' that."

"I think I'll get a refill." Puck's dad takes a last drink of his scotch and leaves the room.

"Charming" Quinn looks at Puck, eyebrow raised and Puck walks away after him.

"That's a hell of a first impression, Dad."

"I mean, what the hell Puck. You tell us for years how much you hate the woman and now you bring her into our home and tell us that you guys are dating. How am I supposed to act?"

"We just got here. Can't we wait two seconds before we start arguing again."

"Just never figured you a guy to sleep his way to the middle."

"Actually, I'll have you know that Quinn is one of the most respected editors in town.

"Oh please, she's your meal ticket, and you brought her home to meet your mother."

"No, she's not a meal ticket, Dad. She's my fiancée."

"What'd you just say?" He looks at him furiously.

"You heard me. I'm getting married." Puck walks to the living room. "Attention everyone! Attention, I have an announcement to make. Quinn and I are engaged." Quinn spits out her water all over the bartender. "Honey! Where are you?" Quinn pops into the room. "Up, there she is." They both stare at each other for a few seconds, yelling at each other with their eyes. "Come on down here, pumpkin."

"Ok." Quinn mouths to herself and walks over to Puck. Everyone starts clapping.

"Look at her, just look at her!" Puck says to the crowd that has formed. "Right there ladies and gentleman, there she is!"

"Congratulation, Puck!" A few different people shout.

"Oh thank you, thank you."

"Get the champagne!" Everyone grabs classes and a neighbor pops a bottle of champagne.

"So that was your idea of the perfect time?" Quinn says through clenched teeth.

"Mmhm"

"Cause it was brilliant. Just brilliant timing." She says sarcastically.

"Puck. Hi." A beautiful woman walks up to Quinn and Puck.

"Rach? Oh my god, hey, hi. Wow." They embrace in a hug. "How you doing? I didn't know you were gonna be here."

"Oh well, your mom probably wanted it to be a surprise. So…surprise!"

"Right…"

"And…we're being completely rude. Hi."

"Oh God, yes. This is my ex…"

"Hi, I'm Rachel." They shake hands. "Well, congratulations, you guys."

"Thank you."

"So…did I miss the story?"

"What story?" They say at the exact same time. Rachel looks at Puck,

"About how you proposed."

"Oh how a man proposes says a lot about his character!" Annie yells from the other room. They both nod.

"I would actually love to hear the story, Puck, would you tell us?" Ruth says.

"Yeah!" Everyone in the room chimes in.

"You know what, actually, Quinn here, she loves to tell this story, so I'm just gonna go ahead and let her do that." Puck walks next to his mother and sits down. "We should all just sit in rapture." Quinn clears her throat and walks forward.

"Wow, uh okay. Where to begin…this story. Well wow, okay well, PUCK and I were about to celebrate our first year working together. And I knew that he had been itching to ask me to marry him for some time, but he was scared. Like a little tiny bird. So, I started leaving him little hints here and there because I knew he wouldn't have the guts to ask-"

"-that's not, that's not exactly how it happened."

"No?"

"No. No. I mean I picked up on her stupid little hints. This woman is about as subtle as a gun. Yeah, what I was worried about is that she mind find this little box-"

"-aw the little ceramic box he bought and painted in the shape of a heart. And I opened that tiny little pink box and inside were these tiny little hand-cut heart confettis. And once they cleared and I looked down and saw the most beautiful, big-"

"-fat nothing. Nothing. No ring."

"No ring?" His mother says quietly.

"No, but inside that box, underneath all that shit, there was a handwritten note with the address to a hotel, date and time. Masculine. Anyway, naturally Quinn thought-"

"-I thought he was seeing someone else. It was a terrible time for me, but I went to that hotel anyway. I went there and I pounded on the door, but the door was already unlocked. And as I swung open the door, there was Puck-"

"-standing"

"-kneeling-"

"-like a man-"

"-on a bed of rose pedals, in a tuxedo. And he was choking back soft sobs, and when he held back the tears and finally caught his breath he said-"

"-Quinn will you marry me? And she said yes. The end. Who's hungry?"

"That..is quite a story." Ruths says slowly.

"Puck, you are so sensitive" Annie grabs his hand.

"Hey let's see a kiss!" Someone yells and everyone starts clinking their glasses.

"Kiss!"

"Give her a kiss!"

"No, come on!"

"Come one, do it!"

"Okay, alright. Here we go." Puck grabs Quinn's hand and kisses it. "There"

"Kiss her on the mouth like you mean it!" Annie yells at him.

"Kiss her! Kiss her!" People chant.

"Okay, alright. Here we go." They both look at each other hesitantly; they tilt their heads, keep their eyes open and peck.

"Oh Puck, Give her a real kiss!" Someone else yells.

"Why don't we just do it" Quinn whispers to him. He leans in and kisses her. Quinn is shocked, her cheeks start getting warm and she closes her eyes. Puck is confused as ever to enjoy this kiss. They both pull away, staring at each other, confused as hell. Annie gets up from the couch and hugs them both in a group hug.

"I'm so happy for you two! So, so happy!"


	4. Chapter 4

"This is your bedroom" Ruth and Annie walk them to their room. Quinn walks around in awe. There is a giant bed, a couch, long beautiful windows and a balcony.

"Wow, this is so beautiful. And the view, wow."

"And here's the bed!" Annie exclaims. Quinn turns around.

"Wow, fabulous bed. Fabulous. So uh, where is Puck's room?"

"Oh sweetheart, we're not living in the 50's and you guys aren't teenagers. He'll sleep in here with you." They all laugh; Quinn feels a little sick.

"Oh great, cause we, we love to snuggle. Don't we love?"

"Huge snugglers"

"Okay well if you need anything, towels or whatever there are extra linens and things in here" She opens up the armoire.

"And if you get chilly tonight use this!" Annie pulls out a long, thick blanket. "It has special powers."

"Oh what kind of special powers?"

"I call it the Babymaker" Annie says.

"Okay then," Quinn hands the blanket to Puck.

"Well, we're gonna turn in, it's been quite an evening. So goodnight, sleep well."

"Good-night. And thank you for everything, again."

-"So you haven't been home in a while." Quinn calls from the bathroom. Puck is in the bedroom laying out blankets on the floor.

"Haven't had a lot of vacation days."

"Oh, stop complaining." The door creeks open a crack. "Don't look okay?"

"OK."

"Are your eyes closed?"

"Yes" Puck's eyes are opened. Quinn tip-toe runs out of the bathroom and to her bed. She is wearing a silk pair of shorts and matching tank top.

"Those are the pajamas you decided to bring?"

"Well I thought I'd be alone in a hotel room."

"Can we just go to sleep?"

"Yep." Quinn settles into the bed. She closes her eyes and lay down for a moment. The sun is still streaming into the bedroom, as it does this late in Alaska. She is trying to adjust to the six pillows and huge, perfectly made bed. She tosses and moves around for a few seconds.

"Well, looks like I won't be getting any sleep with the sun streaming in my face." Puck clicks a button on the remote in his hand and curtains begin to move and blinds begin to close completely on their own. She clears her throat, "Thank you"

-The phone begins to ring and Quinn's head pops up from in between two pillows. Her hair is a complete mess.

"Puck." He doesn't answer. "Puck. Phone. Puck!" She sits up and bangs her head on the headboard. "Shit, Puck. Phone. Puck the phone." She is whispering this entire time. "PUCK!"

"Yeah, right."

"Puck. Where is it?!"

"Purse. Side pocket." He is still laying on the floor, eyes sealed shut. Quinn reaches for her purse and falls off the bed. She quickly gets up and grabs her phone.

"Hello. Hello? Hello." She paces around. "Finn! Finn. Are you there, hello?!" She starts yelling, "I have horrible service, Finn just one minute!"

"OH MY GOD, QUINN." Puck abruptly sits up and Quinn starts whispering again.

"Finn? Hello?" The line goes dead and Quinn throws her phone across the room. It breaks. "Shit"

"What are you doing?" Puck says from the floor.

"I don't even know anymore." Quinn sits on the bed and sighs. Her head is in her hands and she is shaking her head.

"Come on, get dressed, we have some work to do." Quinn looks at him confused. "You know, this immigration thing"

"Right"

-After getting dressed in jeans and a sweater, Quinn joins the family for breakfast. Puck, Ruth and Annie are all seated at the table eating pancakes, eggs, fruit and bacon.

"Quinn! Sit, sit." Ruth gestures to the chair next to Puck.

"Oh thank you."

"How'd you two sleep?" They look at each other hesitantly.

"Lovely. Thank you." Quinn says before reaching for the bowl of fruit.

"Do I have any grandchildren yet?" Annie blurts out and Quinn drops the spoon onto her plate.

"Sorry, sorry." She shakes her head and picks up the spoon.

"Not yet Grams." Puck pushes it aside and grabs the bowl away from Quinn.

"So Quinn, tell us about yourself." Quinn is pushing the fruit around her plate.

"Um, what would you like to know?"

"Anything. Where you're from? Will we meet your family? What's your favorite food? I don't know."

"Um, sure. I grew up in Toronto and came to America to go to school. Well my family is dead, well my mom is…my dad could be, I wouldn't know because we haven't spoken in over 10 years. Favorite food? I don't know bacon? Although I try to avoid it at all costs." Everyone at the table is left speechless. Quinn pops a few grapes into her mouth, unaware of how affected everyone is.

"Wow, Quinn I'm so sorry about your family." She looks up from her plate and sees the emotion in Ruth's eyes.

"Oh, no. No no, it's really okay. I was young when everything happened. I'm okay." She smiles, although her heart still hurts thinking about it.

-Puck and Quinn are on the porch. Puck's family insisted on giving them some alone time. Puck grabs the packet of questions he brought with him.

"Okay, let's start. There's a lot to cover so we'll do a section a day." Quinn sips her tea and nods her head.

"I want to ask you these questions too, because I doubt you know EVERYTHING about me. And we should be prepared, just in case."

"Fair enough." He sits back in his chair. "Full name, Birthplace and Date of Birth? Do you wanna take this one Ice Queen or should I?"

"After you."

"Lucy Quinn Fabray, born in Toronto, Canada and you were born April 30th 1987."

"Okay, well that was an easy one. Now you answer because I obviously have no clue."

"Noah Elijah Puckerman. Born in Sitka, Alaska on August 8th 1988."

"Hm..only one year younger. Interesting."

"What holidays do we celebrate together?"

"Well I know well enough that Puckerman is a Jewish name."

"And I know that you are a devout Christian and you wear a cross almost everyday and hide it." Quinn looks shocked.

"I don't even know how you know these things and quite frankly, I don't think I want to know."

"So we celebrate both holidays?"

"Sure. Although if it comes up, we are raising our kids Christian."

"Oh there's just no way."

"The 8 pound human comes out of my vagina, therefore, I make the decisions." Puck thinks about it for a second.

"Fair enough. Our imaginary babies will be Christian. Although it pains me"

"Oh get over it"

"What time do you and your spouse arrive home from work?"

"I'm home at 8:30."

"I'm home around 9:00"

"So late?"

"Well, you make me stay until your out and then I have to take a bus and two trains so yes, that late." Quinn slowly nods.

"What is your annual salary?"

"Well, I know this one. Finally."

"As do I."

"Oh yeah? How would you know that?"

"You make me deposit the check."

"Right."

"Yeah, Ms. $110,000"

"Oh please, your $35,000 is generous."

"How many cars do you have?"

"None."

"Yeah, same."

"What TV shows do you watch together? Hmm..this will be fun."

"I only watch one show. And it's a guilty pleasure and you can't make fun."

"This is so exciting for me."

"Forget it."

"Oh come on, just tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"I will not." Puck leans over and starts tickling her sides.

"Tell me!" Quinn is wiggling and laughing so hard.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you!"

"Awesome." She closes her eyes tight.

"The Bachelor." Puck starts cracking up and Quinn punches his arm.

"Ugh, the woman who has no time at all for love watches a show about finding love and ohh I get it." Quinn looks away and Puck clears his throat.

"Uh, Favorite food? Steak for me" Quinn lightly laughs.

"Typical."

"Hmm, who does the cooking? That'd be me."

"Oh come on, I can cook."

"No, you can't" She rolls her eyes.

"Since we're living with you…what size is your bed?"

"Queen."

"For all the prostitutes that stay the night?"

"Next question."

"Electrical or regular tooth brush? I have regular."

"As do I."

"Okay, that's good for now."

"Thank God."

"Now give me a hug, they're watching" Puck nods his head at the window.

"No."

"Bring it in"

"No, please no." Puck pulls her in.

"There we go. Yeah that's nice." Puck rubs her back. He moves his hand to rub her ass.

"You touch my ass one more time I will cut your balls off in your sleep. Okay?"

"Yeah."

"Great."

"Now, Grams and my mom want to take you out for a surprise, so get your stuff together."

"No, please I hate surprises."

"Aw, that's a shame. You're going."

-Annie and Ruth take Quinn to a bar. They walk in, it's a little dark and Quinn is squinting to find an empty table. All of a sudden a spotlight is shining on Quinn and she stops walking. She turns around to look for Ruth and Annie but they're nowhere to be found. Two men come down off the stage and grab Quinn's arms. They carry her onto the stage, sit her down in a chair, and start dancing and stripping.

She looks out into the crowd, bringing her hand up to block out the bright spotlight. She sees Annie, Ruth and Rachel at a small table dancing and jumping up and down. One of the strippers puts a veil headband on Quinn's head.

-After about ten minutes the strippers finally let her leave the stage. She goes out back for some air. She takes the veil off her head and fixes her hair. The back door swings open and Rachel walks out.

"Hey! There you are! How you doing?"

"Oh fine, fine. Just…working on my tan." Quinn jokes and they both lightly laugh.

"Yeah, the Puckermans can be a bit overwhelming at times. You'll get used to it."

"Yeah"

"It's a little different from New York, huh?"

"Little bit, ever been?"

"No. No way. That was always Puck's dream. Not mine."

"You guys were pretty serious, huh?"

"Well I mean we dated in high school and all through college, but we were just kids."

"And you guys called it off because Puck wanted to go to New York?"

"Well uh, the night before we graduated, he proposed. He said he wanted to elope and run off to New York City together and…"

"You said 'no'."

"Yeah, I said 'no'. I've never been anywhere but here. This is home." Quinn looks out at the view. "But, anyway…you're a lucky girl. Puck is truly the best. Which, I'm sure you already know." Rachel takes a swig of her beer.

"Oh, yep. Yeah I do."

"Well, cheers to you guys."

"Oh, uh…" Quinn picks up her empty plastic cup and clinks Rachel's beer. "Thank you."

-Ruth, Annie and Quinn are walking back to the house. From a far they see Puck chopping wood with an ax. His headphones are in and music is blasting.

"Oh no, Puck! Puck, honey is everything OK?" Ruth yells

"What's he…What's he doing?" Quinn asks Annie, a bit confused and concerned.

"Best to leave him be when he's like that. Come on, honey." Quinn lifts up her sunglasses to get a better look. Puck is going to town on a stump of wood, pieces flying everywhere.

The girls get into the house and Ruth marches into the living room where Puck's dad, Joe, is watching TV. She turns off the television and stands in front of him.

"Why is Puck out there axing the life out of that log again?" Quinn is standing there awkwardly, pretending to look around the house.

"Well maybe he's planning on actually building something this time." Joe says while looking for the remote. Quinn cuts in wanting to remove herself from this conversation, which she sees unfolding into an argument.

"Wow, I am so tired. I think I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower."

"Sure" Ruth nods and smiles.

"I had a great day today, so thank you." She walks away, slowly.

"What did you do?" Ruth turns back to her husband.

"I didn't do anything, I mean I just had a short and brief conversation about his future."

"Oh, well that's a great idea. That's just a great idea, Joe because he will never come back home now." Quinn is lingering in the kitchen, trying her best to listen but not be seen or heard. "He is my son and I only get to see him every three years because of you. All because of you. I've had enough." The little white Maltese spots Quinn and starts barking. "You are gonna be supportive of…" The dog continues to bark.

"Shhhh!"

"marrying Quinn and that's the end of it." The dog is barking more and more.

"Shh…shh!" Quinn runs away to her bedroom.

"You are gonna fix this Joe!" Ruth yells. Puck walks in from the other room, music blasting. He walks to the bedroom.

-Quinn shuts the shower off. The bathroom is steamy and she can't see much.

"Where's a towel?" She says to herself. She gets out of the shower and prances around the bathroom looking everywhere for a towel. "Towel…towel…towel" She says softly. She picks up a bath glove she finds on the sink. "Is this all they have for a towel? I can't dry with this, this is ridiculous." She starts drying off her face with the glove.

In the bedroom, Puck still has his headphones in. He opens the linen closet, which makes a noise.

"Hello?" Quinn yells from the bathroom. "Hello?" She walks closer to the bathroom door to see if she can hear anything.

Puck grabs a towel from the linen closet and walks outside onto the balcony. Quinn opens the bathroom door and sees the linen closet wide-open, towels neatly folded inside.

"Oh!" She covers her boobs with her hands and her privates with the bath glove. She tip toes out of the bathroom, trying not to make a noise or get water anywhere. The dog comes in and starts barking again. "Oh, oh, oh. No, no, no no." The dog chases her back into the bathroom, "Just shoo, I'm sorry." The dog won't let her get out, barking and jumping at her. "Let me just get a towel, please." She is pushed back and sitting on the bathtub as the dog barks from outside the door. "Come on, I'm sorry for eavesdropping back there, just let me get a towel."

Puck is on the balcony facing the beautiful view, music on high volume. He takes off his shirt, revealing his abs and v-line.

"Go away, go away" Quinn is whisper shouting at the dog.

Puck puts his iPod into his mouth to hold and takes off his pants.

"You know what, hold on." Quinn walks to the sink and plugs in her blow dryer. She puts it on and points it at the dog. "Yeah, that's right." The dog slowly backs away. "How you like that, huh?" The dog is still barking and Quinn is still holding her boobs in her hand. "Take it, take it. That's right, that's what I'm talking bout, you like that?" The dog takes one more step back and then lay down, and stops barking. "Oh, you really do actually like that, don't you?"

Puck pulls his boxers down and hangs the sweaty clothes on a chair on the balcony.

"Come here, come to mama." Quinn slides the bathmat towards the barking dog. "That's right, get on the carpet." The dog takes one step onto the mat. "That's a good boy! Yes, good boy. Come on!" The dog walks completely on the mat and lay down, Quinn slides the mat behind her and runs for the door, closing it behind her.

Puck walks inside, naked and walks directly into a very naked Quinn. They sandwich together and slide to the ground.

"What the?! What the hell?" Puck shouts.

"Oh my God, oh my god! Why are you naked?!"

"Oh my God! Why are you wet?!"

"Oh my God, don't look at me, don't look at me!" They roll off each other in different directions.

"I don't understand what is going on!"

"Why are you naked! DON'T look at me!" Quinn is trying to cover everything she can while bouncing backward behind the bed. Puck is hunched over by the closet. "Oh my God, you're showing everything, you're showing everything! Cover it up for the love of God!" Puck stands up and wraps the towel he was holding around his waist. Quinn makes is safely behind the bed and grabs the first blanket she sees. "Oh God not the Babymaker!" She throws it across the room and grabs another blanket. "Explain yourself, please!"

"Explain myself?!" He whisper-shouts.

"Yes, explain yourself."

"I was outside!" He points to the balcony.

"Oh really, and you didn't hear me?"

"I was listening to…what are you even doing home?!"

"What?!"

"Then you just jump me out of nowhere?! What's that about?!"

"Oh come on, I did not mean to jump you! Your dog was attacking me and I had to run and I ran into you!" She is making obscene hand gestures while crouching behind the bed.

"Attacking?"

"You know what…just go!" She points toward the door. "GO!"

"Fine" He puts his hands up to surrender.

"Go take a shower, you stink!"

"Fine!"

"Nice tattoo by the way."

"What?" She covers her lower back. Puck opens the bathroom door and the dog comes out barking and leaves the room.

"See! See, exactly! Did you see that?!"

"Woah! Barely made it out alive there!" He says sarcastically. "See the size of the teeth on that thing!" He closes the door behind him and Quinn shoves her face down onto the bed.


	5. Chapter 5

It's nighttime, the fire is going in the room Puck and Quinn are staying in. Puck is in his usual place on the floor and Quinn is getting into bed. Puck is staring at the ceiling; he can't help himself, he has to bring up earlier.

"So…so naked." Quinn clears her throat, not wanting to think about it.

"Can we uh, not talk about that please?" She closes her eyes and breathes out.

"Just sayin'" He shrugs, even though she can't see it. Quinn shakes her head and swallows hard.

"So, what's the deal with you and your father?"

"Ooh, I'm sorry that question is not in the packet."

"Oh really? Well I thought you were the one that said I needed to learn about-"

"Not about that, I didn't."

"But if the guy asks-"

Puck raises his voice slightly. "Not about that, Quinn. Goodnight." Quinn fidgets with her hands and stares at the ceiling. Puck breathes slowly, feeling slightly bad about losing his temper.

"I changed my name to Quinn because when I was younger everyone I went to school with made up a mean nickname." Puck looks over at the bed confused.

"What?"

"I was overweight, had acne, I hated the way I looked. Everyone in middle school called me 'Lucy Caboosey'. No one would be my lab partner, I had no friends, I was miserable. So I went on a diet, got Proactive for my skin, got a nose job and made my family call me, Quinn. Umm.. I was in the Glee Club in my high school. Not the best singer in the club, I only got a few solos but it was the one thing that made me truly happy. Let's see…My first concert was NSYNC." Puck is listening intently on the floor. "I think Robert DeNiro is sexy. I don't like flowers in the house because they remind me of funerals. Never played a video game. I read To Kill A Mockingbird every Christmas; it's my favorite book. Haven't slept with a man in over a year. And uh, I went to the bathroom a cried after Bill said all of those mean things about me." Puck looks over to the bed, he can't see her but wishes he could. "I got pregnant my sophomore year of high school my first time having sex. I gave the baby up for adoption," Puck is stunned. "Which leads us to my tattoo of Ryan Seacrest that I got my senior year of high school after the woman I gave Beth to, showed up to teach at my school. I dyed my hair pink, smoked a pack of cigarettes a day, wore all black and got the tattoo. The dark phase only lasted about two weeks until the Glee club talked some sense into me. It was stupid, I shouldn't have done it, especially on my lower back. I'm sure there are many, many other things, but that's all I can think of at the moment." Puck is laying on the floor, speechless. "You there?" Quinn says softly, feeling extremely vulnerable.

Puck nods and swallows, "I'm here. Just…processing." They both lay there still for a moment. "You really haven't slept with anyone in over a year?"

"Oh my God, out of all that, that's what you got?"

"That's a long time."

"Yeah, well, I've been a little busy."

"Yeah…" Quinn is playing with her hands, nervously. "NSYNC those are the guys that sing I Want It That Way?"

"No. No, you know 'You may hate me, but it ain't no lie baby bye, bye, bye' that's them. They were awesome live." Puck starts laughing. "What?"

"Nothing. I know who they are, I just wanted to hear you sing." She laughs. "Quinn?"

"Yes?"

"Don't take this the wrong way-"

"K"

"But you are a very…very beautiful woman." Quinn smiles, still playing with her hands. Puck starts singing 'Bye Bye Bye' softly to himself. Quinn begins mouthing along. He skips to the chorus and starts belting it out. She is cracking up and Puck continues to sing. "God, that is hard to sing." They both laugh.

-It's morning; Quinn wakes up abruptly from a deep sleep. "Where am I?" Her hair is all over her face. "What time is it?" She reaches over to the night table to grab the clock, but instead hits the remote that controls the blinds and curtains. The blinds begin to slowly open, "Ooh! Shh, shh, shh." She hits the remote to stop it and they do. She leans over the bed to see Puck fast asleep. She puts the remote down on the night table and catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, "Oh, God." She starts fixing her hair and then grabs lip-gloss from the night table and puts some on. She rubs the sleep from her eyes and then hits her face to wake herself up a bit. She puts her hair nicely to the side and slowly lays back down into bed, until a knock at the door puts her right back in sitting position.

"Room service. Breakfast for the happy couple." Quinn hears from outside the door.

"Noah! Noah!" She whispers from the bed. "Noah!"

"Mmmm"

"PUCK!" She grabs a pillow from behind her and throws it at his face. He jolts his head up. "Your mother's at the door. Get up! Get up here!"

"Oh, God." He gets up a little discombobulated.

"Just a second!" Quinn shouts. Puck throws the pillow at Quinn and his blankets on the bed. "No, no not the baby blanket." He gets in bed, under the covers. "Okay, alright."

"Wait a second, hold on." He whispers.

"What?"

"Are you wearing make-up?"

"What? No, of course not." She brushes it off and fixes the blankets.

"Okay, what do we do?"

"Just spoon me, spoon me."

"Alright" He spoons her and she backs away quickly.

"Oh my God! What is that?!" He backs away and puts his hands up.

"I'm sorry. It's morning."

"What do you mean, 'It's morning'?" He gives her an, 'are you kidding me' face.

"Is everything okay?" Ruth yells from the door.

"Yep! Yep! Come on in!" He opens his arms and Quinn settles next to him. They are cuddling awkwardly. Ruth comes in carrying a tray of orange juice and cinnamon buns.

"Mmm smells good." Puck says

"Oh you shouldn't have gone to that trouble!"

"Oh please, your family now it's no trouble." She puts the tray on a small table next to the bed. She grabs the remote and opens the curtains up, showing the beautiful view.

"Room for one more?" Joe comes in waving his hand.

"Oh can we not do this Puckerman family meeting right now. We just got up."

"Yeah" Quinn fake yawns and stretches her arms.

"Your mother and I have come up with a proposition and I happen to think it's a terrific idea…"

"We want you to get married here tomorrow!" Ruth cuts in. Puck and Quinn are on the bed absolutely speechless, not moving a muscle. A few seconds pass.

"What? What? What?" Quinn stutters out.

"Well, your gonna get married anyways so why don't you get married here, where we can all be together, and that way Gram Annie can be a part of it."

"Oh, aw" Quinn lets out.

"No." Puck says softly, mostly to himself.

"No. No, it's Grams big birthday tomorrow night-"

"-Big day for her-"

"-we don't want to ruin it, you know."

"I've had 89 birthday parties, I don't need another one." Annie comes walking in, having heard the entire conversation.

"Oh, Gram" Quinn says, feeling touched.

"It would be a dream come true for me to see my one grandchild's wedding. A dream come true!"

"Hmmm." Puck fakes a smile.

"So you'll do it?" Annie says hopefully. Puck shakes his head. "Before I'm dead?"

"OK. OK"

"OK" They both say and both give her the thumbs up. The family laughs excitedly.

"Okay we will do everything. And you can get married like we did, in the barn."

"It's a Puckerman family tradition!" Annie exclaims.

"Oh, wow!" Quinn forces out and puts on her best smile. Puck pats Quinn's head, not knowing what else to do.

"Yup." Is all he can say and Quinn claps her hands.

"Wow! I've always wanted to get married in a…a barn."

"I have." Puck says.

"It's a sign!" Annie yells. "A sign from the universe that you're meant to be together!" Annie and Joe leave the room together, happily.

"Okay, I know I should leave you alone now, but we're just so excited! I know you're excited too!" Joe pulls Ruth away.

"So excited!"

"Thrilled!" They both say at the same time. They all leave the room and close the door behind them.

"Oh my God." Puck breathes out and leans his head back against the headboard. Quinn looks up at him. "When my mom finds out that this whole thing is bullshit she is gonna be crushed. And my, my poor grandmother is gonna die."

"Your mom's not gonna find out, shh." She says, trying her best to comfort him.

"And my father…what the hell was that? The whole wedding thing? Where did that come from?"

"She probably got him worked up into it" Quinn tells him, still attempting to calm him down. "It's fine. She's not gonna find out."

"Oh, God! Quinn!" Puck puts his face in his hands and hunches over.

"Noah, they're not gonna find out, okay? Just relax" She puts her hands on his shoulders and rubs them, soothingly. "It's gonna be okay." She's gently massaging his shoulders. "It's not like we're gonna be married forever. We'll be happily divorced before you know it." She runs her hands down his arms. "It'll be fine. It'll all be fine." He looks at her with a bit of relief. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She realizes she still has her hands on him and he notices too.


	6. Chapter 6

"So uh- I'm gonna get dressed and get some air" Quinn abruptly gets out of bed and runs into the bathroom. She splashes cold water onto her face.

Puck is still in bed, his head in his hands; He is slowly breathing, trying to catch his breath. He's confused and nervous and doesn't know if he is doing the right thing.

Quinn finds a bike outside. She starts riding it through the woods, talking to herself, "Okay, you just have to focus, Quinn. Just focus. This is a business deal, JUST a business deal." Her path starts to get a little bumpy, but she doesn't really notice, "Everything's gonna be just fine." She notices the path starts to diminsh down the hill, rocks are everywhere and she is dodging tree branches left and right, "Okay this is a little rough. I can do this." Her heart begins to thump against her chest and for the first time, she isn't thinking about Puck, but how to get out of the woods. She starts going faster, her feet no longer doing the pedaling, "Oh God I hate nature." She mumbles as she gets smacked in the face with a branch. She tries to hit the breaks next to her hand, "Nope, not stopping" She loses complete control towards the bottom of the hill and flies off the bike, her head hitting a sharp rock.

She's lying on the ground, eyes still closed, "Oh God am I dead?" She says very, very softly. She squints her left eye open and everything is spinning. "Fuck." She puts her hand on her head and slowly sits up, keeping her eyes closed. She focuses on breathing and gains the courage to open her eyes again. Everything is still a bit dizzy and she brings her hand down from her head and sees a lot of blood. Panic fills her entire body. "Oh my God, oh my God." She gets up, hunched over a bit, hand on head and begins walking toward the house. When she gets there Puck is outside collecting the wood he was axing. He sees her immediately and runs to her.

"Quinn, what the hell happened?" He grabs her shoulders and looks at her.

"I'm gonna be sick." She quickly turns her head and throws up all over the bushes.

Puck carries her into the bedroom and sits her up against the headboard onto the bed. "Now do you wanna tell me what happened out there?" He grabs the bottle of peroxide and q-tips and starts applying it to her cut; she flinches.

"I just, I panicked. I couldn't breath so I went for a bike ride and then it got really steep and I don't know."

"You may need stitches. I'm no doctor, butterfly stitches are the best I've got"

"Yeah, that's fine." He's really close to her face now, focusing on doing a perfect job, so not to leave a scar. She can feel his breathing on her cheek that's how close they are, and she wonders if he can feel hers, because it just became rapid.

"There." He puts the last one on and is suddenly aware of their distance. Neither of them says a word, they're just staring at each other. Puck glances at her lips then at her eyes again, she looks so defeated and stressed; something he's never seen from her before. He doesn't know why or what came over him but he leans down and kisses her. It's soft and lasts about three seconds before he backs away slowly. Quinn opens her eyes and they make quick eye contact before he clears his throat and sits up. "I'll get you some ice" And he leaves the room.

Quinn is left in the bed, earlier her head was spinning from being hit in the head and now it's spinning from that kiss. She's never seen Noah that way; he's always just been her assistant. Obviously she isn't blind, she has always been aware of how attractive he is, but she's never had butterflies around him or felt anything close to liking him. She hears Puck coming and she panics because she doesn't want it to be awkward and she doesn't want to discuss it right now, while her head is pounding, so she pretends to be asleep.

"Quinn, I got the-" He sees her sleeping and stops walking "ice." Puck places the ice pack on Quinn's bruised arm and sits on the end of the bed and sighs loudly. Quinn peeks through her eye and sees him playing with his hands on his lap. Puck gets up and leaves.

Quinn wakes up frazzled. She never intended on actually falling asleep but she feels Puck shaking her awake. "Hey, it's been a few hours, I don't know if you're concussed or not so I wanted to wake you, just in case." He smiles at her softly; if you weren't really looking at him you wouldn't be able to really see it.

"Thanks." She sits up, slowly. "You know, for the head and the arm, and waking me up." She laughs lightly, still not managing to look at him for more than a second.

"I don't want things to get weird, Quinn. I apologize for kissing you, I wasn't thinking." She shakes her head at him, her face pleading with him to stop. "You just looked so…broken- like I said, I wasn't thinking."

"It's seriously not a big deal, let's just forget it ever happened, okay?"

"Okay." He stands up, "I'm going into town for a few things, you wanna take a ride?"

Anxious to get away, Quinn jumps out of bed, "Yes! Yes I do!"

They're in a local convenient store, a lot different than New York for Quinn. Everyone seems to know everyone and one of the strippers from Quinn's surprise worked at the store they were out. Quinn is mortified and shadows Puck around the store, not wanting to be embarrassed.

"I think we should get something to wrap your hand up, maybe some ace bandage or something."

"I think it's okay."

"Yeah, but just in case." He shrugs and Quinn smiles at him, his concern for her is refreshing; no one has cared for her since she was very young. Quinn's phone beeps, taking her away from her thoughts, and she checks to find that she has 12 messages in her voicemail.

"Shit. Shit." She listens to two of them. "Shit. Noah, I need a computer. Is there a computer in this God forsaken town?"

Puck brings her to another small shop, serves coffee and cookies and has one computer in the front facing the window that seems to be from the 90's. Puck reaches into his pocket and hands her a bunch of change. "Okay when it runs out it gives you a warning. Just put in more dimes if that happens."

Quinn looks at him confused and takes the change, "Uh, what? You're kidding dimes?"

Puck sees Rachel walking outside the window "I'll be outside."

"You're not kidding?!"

"You'll be fine!"

"Okay, I can figure this out-" She whispers to herself and puts money into the slot next to the computer. "-I'm an intelligent woman." The computer starts making a strange noise, which startles her. She glances outside the window while Internet Explorer loads and sees Puck talking to Rachel. She sees them talking and smiles, just barely, before a pit forms in her stomach and disappoint covers her face. She quickly turns back to the computer and answers a few emails before shutting it down and leaving the store.

Puck sees her walk out and hugs Rachel goodbye and walks over to Quinn. They start walking to where Puck parked.

"So it was nice to see Rachel, huh?"

"Yeah. It was." He nods his head and puts his hands in his pockets.

"She looked really pretty today." Quinn tells him casually.

"Yeah, she did."

"Mmmhm. Must be nice to see each other again and just catch-up"

"Yeah, it's definitely good to see her. It's yeah, it's been a long time." Quinn nods and then starts playing with her phone.


End file.
